heirloom angel tree topper

i like making things to hang on our xmas tree and i've made several over the years. i combine them with commercial ones because i can't make them fast enough to fill up the tree and of course, there are busy years. one of those i've made, i think around '05 or '06, is an angel tree topper. i just like angels better than the usual star. or maybe i just like angels, period. this is why my kids have the names that they do now. i used to have a store-bought one but i ditched it after it got too old and dingy. i then found a pattern for a crocheted angel but i can't remember where. maybe it's in one of my books or on the internet. i'm sharing it here even if it's an old project because i just refurbished today. being several years old, it has also gotten dingy. fortunately, crocheted items can be washed so i took it apart to wash it, put it all back and gave it new wings.

here it is piece by piece.


i'm particularly proud of this because it is a pretty detailed thread crochet having a scallopped hem and collar. i used a creamy gold speckled thread for it combined with white thread for accents...


and it has this nice puffed, princess sleeves.


this is the doll form that goes inside the dress...


and this is the hairpiece done with popcorn stitching.


since the wings were not fabric and cannot be washed, i decided to just make a new one using some scrapbooking stuff. these are some Maya Road chipboard flourishes, Tim Holtz grungeboard wings and some white felt fabric.


i painted those with black acrylic paint, and then gold. then i glittered the top part of the wing with Ice Stickles. i attached those to the white felt and sew that on the back of the dress. i wasn't able to photograph the process because i got too engrossed. so i'm just showing the finished wings after i put the angel back together :-)


she also holds this bead-and-wire bouquet that actually holds a symbolism for me. notice that there are 3 big heart beads and 2 small ones that are in different elevations. they represent my 5 children. topmost is my eldest boy followed by the next 2 sisters. the 2 small hearts are my 2 youngest kids. i often refer to them as Batch1 and Batch 2 because of the big gap in age between the 2 "batches".


here she is in full view, still on the crafting table.


and here she is on the tree, watching over the family...

after all these years, i haven't even named her yet. hmmm, maybe i should. any suggestions?